“Cobra” style streetlights have been quite popular for decades. One of the earliest and best-known versions of these streetlights is the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,065,338, issued on Nov. 20, 1962 to Donald E. Husby et al, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Another well-known cobra-style streetlight is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,299,263, issued on Jan. 17, 1967 to Arthur M. Bjontegard, and also incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The popularity of these cobra-style streetlights has made them nearly ubiquitous throughout American cities. The common use of the cobra-style streetlight has made the appearance of these lights something that rarely draws the attention of passer-bys.
The fact that that cobra-style streetlights are largely ignored due to their common occurrence, and the fact that these lights are typically installed far over the sidewalks, where they are difficult to reach by passer-bys makes them the ideal platform for mounting surveillance cameras. The fact that they are high above the sidewalks provides an excellent vantage point, away from the reach of those who would be interested in tampering with a surveillance device.
However, a significant problem associated with using streetlights as a platform for mounting surveillance equipment is that mounting the surveillance equipment directly against the external surfaces of the streetlights makes the surveillance equipment highly visible to passer-bys, and thus making it very easy for individuals to avoid being in a location where they may be observed with the use of the surveillance equipment.
Surveillance cameras are currently attached to power poles and similar structures by use of various housings. However, the prominence of the location of these devices makes them easy to recognized by the individual or individuals that are under surveillance, making the installations ineffective.
A solution to the problem of concealing the surveillance equipment would be using a faux cobra-style streetlight housing, which would conceal the surveillance equipment, but the fact that it would be inoperative would draw attention to the fixture. Additionally, the lack of lighting would make it difficult to capture clear images.
Another solution would be to create a lighting fixture that is designed to contain surveillance equipment, which would provide the needed space for the camera, power supply, and communication equipment. If the problem designing a new lighting fixture with a housing that can provide all the space needed contain all the components needed for an effective surveillance system did not include the restraint that the lighting fixture be of a limited or pre-established size or shape, then the solution would be rather easy: simply make a larger enclosure. However, an effective system requires at least a suitable power supply to provide the voltage used by the surveillance equipment, a wireless modem system to transmit the images, and a camera, preferably a motorized camera with panning, tilt, zoom, and remote control capabilities.
Still further, changing a single light fixture with a large housing along a street with numerous light fixtures of a smaller or sleeker cobra-style is highly likely to attract the attention and suspicion of passer-bys. Changing all light fixtures to avoid the problem of having a single light that looks out of place is a solution that is prohibitively expensive and wasteful.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple, reliable approach at incorporating all of the systems needed for an effective surveillance system into a cobra-style streetlight, and thus providing such a surveillance system without having to re-design and replace the entire light fixture with a fixture having a significantly different appearance. The disclosed invention uses much of a well-known, widely available lighting fixture, and uses that as the basis for creating a lighting fixture that provides covert surveillance capabilities.